Apparatus for cracking oils



L. B. CUDDY APPARATUS FOR CRACKING OILS pt 7 g 1926.

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Nov 4 L. B. CUDDY APPARATUS FOR CRACKING OILS Sept: 7, 1926. 1,598,805

Original Filed 10, 1919' 3 sheet 2 .li'u en/tor wmss 9. fbflmm Sept. 7,1926. 1,598,805

L. B. CUDDY APPARATUS FOR CRACKING OILS Original Filed 10, 1919 a Sheets-Sheet s 7 Mentor Wiiness I 4 v M -61w. m \t Patented Sept. 7, 1926.

1,598,805 PATENT OFFICE.

LOFTUS IB- CUDDY, 0F BAYHEAD, NEW JERSEY.

APPARATUS FOR CRAGKING OILS.

Application filed November 10, 1919. Serial No. 336,788.

The present invention relates broadly to oil-cracking stills, and more particularly to stills operating on the two-phase or continuous process.

The particular object of the present invention is to provide a still of this type with heating means so positioned and operated that the deposit of carbon necessitating in 'termittent operation of the still is obviated.

Another object of the present invention is to subject the still to the action of dis-" tributed or indirect heat or heated products of combustion, rather than to the direct blast of the heating medium.

Still another object of the present invention is to regulate the supply of heating medium so that a predetermined uniformity exists between the supply of the heating medium and the exhaust thereof through the stack. I

A further object of the invention is to so position the heating burners that the heated products of combustion are given a swirling or circular motion producing uniform heat ing of the still.

.13. still further object of the invention is to provide a stillheated in the manner described and having the zoneof highest temperature adjacent the upper or vapor portion of the still.

The foregoing and other objects, together with their attendant advantages, will be apparent as the invention becomes better understood by reference to the accompanying specification and drawings forming a part thereof, it being premised that changes may be made in the various details and the manner of operation within the scope of the proper on an enlarged scale;

Figure 4 is a cross section of the still'on the line IV1V of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a detail sectional View of a portion of the still.

In carrying out the present invention, the oil to be cracked is pumped into the still as the cracking proceeds, so that the operation is a continuous one. During the twophase cracking process the carbon which is rapidly freed from the oil and tends to collect on the sides of the still is continuously scraped off by specially constructed yielding scrapers which are pulled around the inner curved surface of the still. The carbonthus scraped off is permitted to settle down through the oil and collect in a carbon receiver at the bottom of the still from which it may be intermittently removed, as found desirable. Due to the action of the scrapers, the walls of the still are kept comparatively free of carbon, so that the operation of cracking the oil may be carried on continuously.

F or the purpose of enabling the operator to maintain the oil at substantially the same level in the still, a gauge such as commonly used on boilers is connected through the walls of the furnace into the still, thereby facilitating the determination of the oil level at a glance.

. Referring more particularlyto the drawings, I have illustrated a vertical still 2, preferably comprising a cylindrical main body portion 4: and a convex head 5, secured thereto, as clearly illustrated in Figurcb. .At the opposite end, the. still preferably terminates in a conical portion 6, directing the freed carbon through the outlet 7 into the carbon receiver 8. This receiver is, in turn, provided with gate valves 9 and 10 of any usual construction, permitting the intermittent removal of carbon from the receiver, while the operation of cracking oil is continued.

Partially surrounding the still and spaced therefrom is a furnace 11 having a plurality of peep openings 12, adjacent the upper portion thereof, and through which conditions within the furnace may be observed. Within the furnace, and substantially intermediate the innerwall of the same and the Wall 'of the still is formed a baffle wall 14:, having its upper portion 15 flared outwardly toward the furnace wall. In the preferred embodiment of my invention, the flared portion of the bafie wall is joined to the furnace wall, slightly below the plane of the peep openings 12, and is provided with a plurality of comparativelysmall or restrictved openings 16, for the purpose hereinafter more fully'set forth.

The furnace 11, which is preferably substantially polygonal in cross section, has extending through the walls thereof a pluralit of burners 17. These burners preferab y are so positioned .that they extend approximately tangentially with relation to.

the baflle wall 14, for producing a swirling action therearound of the heated roducts of combustion withinthe heating ciamber 18,

thelower end of which is closed by a partition 19. Theproducts of combustion, due

to their circular or swirling action, become 7 uniformly mixed and rising gradually pass through. the restricted openings 16 in the flared portion of the baffle wall and are di-v rected against the upper portion of the still 2, preferably above the level of the oil therein. After expending their heat, the prodnets of combustion escape through the outlets 20 into the circular flue 21, having communlcation with a suitable stack or stacks.

22. These outlets 20 are preferably four the exhaust of the'same from the still. Due

to this proportioning of the openings, I

am able to produce a uniform heating to a' high temperature of the upper or vapor portion of the still, without producing 10- cally heated and cool portions, which result from subjecting the still to the direct blast of .the products of combustion.

.ter 34 and a pressure The oil to be cracked is fed through a pipe 24 into a ump 25, which is preferably hand-controlle so that it maybe readily operated whenever desired .to pump fresh oil into the still to maintain the pro r level therein. From the pump, the 011 passes through the pipe 26 into a heat interchanger 27, and feed-re lating valve29, into the lower portion of this still. A gang having suitable connections 31 with the upper and lower portions of the still permits the operator to determinewhen the proper level of oil within the still is reached.

The proper amount of oil having been pumped into the still, the burners are placed in operation to produce an operating temperature of from 600-to 1500 F., in the furnace and from 600' to 1000 F., in the still, depending upon the oil to be treated. A pyrometer 32, extending into the furnace permits the operator to determine the heat conditions therein, while a similar pyromeauge 35 extending into the still indicate w en the proper conditions are reached. When the still is'operated an oil vapor pressure offrom 25 to 300 pounds per square inch is carried therein.

cracked vapors.

e glass 30,

A cracked vapor pipe or line 36 extends, I from the vapor or up er portion of the still into an elevated car on and oil separator 33, having a drain pipe 33' provided with a one-way valve (1, and lead-in to the bottom of the still for returning t ereto the oil which is carried into the separator by the The separator 33 may be provided with a suitably closed cleaning opening 6 through which the carbon may be removed from time to time as found necessary. In order that this cleaning may take place without necessitating shutting down the apparatus, the vapor line 36 leading to the separator, and the vapor line 36 leading therefrom, are each provided wit a valvec, which may be closed to cause the va or to travel throu h the by-pass d and ya ve e therein. It wi 1 be apparent that in normal operation the valves 0 are open and the valve 0 closed. The line 36 leads from the separator through an expansion valve 37 to jackets 38 surrounding serpentine portions of the ine for feeding in the oil, so that some of the heat of the outgoing cracked vaporis transferred in the interchanger to the ingoing oil. From these jackets, the vapor passes through the pipe 39 of an ordinary condenser 40,.the cracked oil and noncondensable gas, in turn, passing from the condenser through the pipe 41 into a receiving tank and scrubber-42, which may be of any desirable type and from which the noncondensable gas is led into any suitable gas receiver.

In order to take care of the free carbon which is constantly formed within the still.

during the cracking operations, I provide mechanically operated scrapers which continuously scrape the inner wall of t e still and remove the carbon therefrom before it becomes packed and hardened. To carry out this 0 eration, I preferably provide a vertical s aft 44, extending centrally into the still through a stufling box 45 and into a bearing 46. Adjustably securedto the shaft 44 are a plurality of arms 47, each having pivota'lly mounted-thereon a scraper lever 48, having a scraping blade 49, inclined forwardly in the direction ofrotation of the shaft. Each of the scraping levers 48 preferably extends rearwardly with relation to the direction of rotation from the pivotal bearings 50, so that the scrapers 49 are pulled around the inner curved surface of the still 2 upon rotation being imparted to the shaft through the worm gear mechanism 51. For maintaining the scraper blades in yielding engagement with the inner surface of the still during the rotation of the shaft, I have provided adjustable weights 52, carried on the bell crank levers 54, ivotall supported on the arms 47. Each of the be 1 crank levers has a portion 55, engaging the scraper levers rearwardly of their pivotal mountings 50, thereby holding the scrapers against the wall, while permitting the same to ride over any irregularities encountered during the travel thereof. The scrapers are preferably so disposed that the paths of travel thereof overlap to insure the cleaning of the entire inner wall of the still.

Adjacent the bottom portion of the shaft, I

may provide a supplemental scraper 56, adapted to clean the conical portion 6, and insure the feed of carbon therefrom into the carbon receiver.

I claim:

1. in an apparatuscfor cracking oils, a vertical still, a furnace partly enclosing the same and spaced therefrom, a bafiie wall intermediate the furnace and still and forming a heating chamber surrounding the still between the wall and the furnace, and heating means for the furnace, said wall having a plurality of restricted openings forming the only means of communication between the furnace and the still for distributing the heat from said chamber to the still, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus for cracking oils, a vertical still, a furnace partially enclosing the same and spaced therefrom, a bafie wall intermediate the furnace and still, forming a heating chamber between said wall and the furnace, said wall having its upper end flared outwardly toward the furnace and havin a plurality of restricted openings in said ared portion for directing the heated products of combustion from the heating chamber to the upper end of the still, and burners for the heating chamber, substantially as described.

3. in an apparatus for crackin oils, a vertical still, a furnace surroun ing the same and spaced therefrom, a bafie wall surrounding the still intermediate the furnace and still forming a heating'chamber between the wall and the furnace, said wall having its upper end flared outwardly and joining the furnace adjacent the to thereof and having a plurality of restricted openings therein providing means of escape fro the heating chamber adjacent the vapor zone of the-still only, and burners extending into said heating chamber, substantially as de scribed.

l. in an apparatus for cracking oils, a vertical still, a furnace surrounding the same and spaced therefrom, a bae wall intermediate the furnace and still forming a heating chamber between the wall and the furnace, said wall having its upper end dared still, a polygonal furnace partially outwardly and joining the furnace adjacent the top thereof and having a plurality of restricted openings therein providing means of escape from the heating chamber adjacent the vapor zone of the still, and burners extending tangentially into the heating chamber for breaking up and mixing the products of combustion beforethey reach said restricted openings, substantially as described.

5. In an apparatus for cracking oils, a still, a heating chamber, there being a plu rality of openings permitting the passage of products of combustion from the heating chamber to the still in broken up and distributed condition only, and a stack, there being openings communicating with the stack permitting the discharge of the products of combustion usedfor heating the still, the total areaof said first mentioned openings being substantially equal to the total area of said last mentioned openings, substantially as described.

6. In an apparatus for cracking oils, a still, a heating chamber, there being a plurality of openings permitting the passage of products of combustion from the heating chamber to the still in broken up and distributed condition only, and a stack, there being openings communicating with the stack permitting the discharge of the products of combustion used for heating the still, the total area of said first mentioned openings, the total area of said last mentioned openings and the area of said stack all being substantially equal, scribed.

7. in an apparatus for cracking oils, a

substantially as dethe same and spacedtherefrom, an annular bame wall intermediate the furnace and still forming a heating chamber between said wall and the furnace and restricting the dew from the heating chamber to the still, and heating means for the furnace extending into said chamber substantially tan entially to said bae wall whereby a swir ing motion of the products of combustion is produced for breaking up and distributing the same, the angular furnace construction cooperating with said swirling motion for thoroughly breaking up and intermin "ling said products of combustion, substantialy as described.

lln testimony whereof, l have hereunto set my hand. I

L. B. CUDJDY.

enclosing llll 

